The absurdity of ‘buffer zones’

The evangelical preacher Stephen Green has had his conviction upheld – for standing quite near an abortion clinic in Ealing with a Bible verse in his hands in protest last February. Remarkably, this act is illegal in the UK today. Green argued that he was not protesting about the women entering the clinic, but against the law which prevents him from doing that. The judge noted, however, that the verse Green was holding was Psalm 139/13: ‘For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.’

Green is a devout man and that devotion, you might argue, is split equally towards God and self-publicity. But still. If the mere presence of someone by an abortion clinic, their eyes closed in prayer, is enough to discomfort those entering the place, what does it say about what happens in such a place? And how have we allowed ourselves to get here, to a law which is so odiously restrictive of freedom of speech? Is it because when the subject of abortion is raised, men mutter a few apologies to sidle off, thinking that they are not really allowed an opinion at all?